October
by Werewolfbites
Summary: Was called Fraternal, until a reviewer suggested that this title was fine. Summary: Marti finds out that she Dierdre isn't her only half-sister. Dierdre has a fraternal twin, October. Summary sucks like CW for cutting the show, but please read if you wan
1. Fraternal Twins

**Hello All! Yes I'm back with new ideas, and also pissed that they (CW) cut this show. This is my take on the Deirdre/Marti story, only there is another sister! Deirdre has a fraternal twin. But instead of me telling you all this, how about you actually read it and see how it is. Let me know how you like it! I will be having Julian/Marti moments as well. Enjoy!  
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><p>"I have a half sister?" Marti asked, looking at the back of the picture he was holding. <p>

"Two actually," Julian Parish said, "I can't seem to find a picture of one October Perkins." 

"She doesn't have a school picture?" Wanda asked, as Julian handed Marti the picture. Wanda downed the shot glass of whiskey that she had asked for and poured another shot right after. 

Julian sighed, "Apparently she's skipped every single picture day throughout her high school years, as for elementary school she was home schooled." 

"Wait a minute, I know this girl," Marti said, surprise evident in her eyes as she recognized the worker at Wainwright's, "She tried to help me find information on my dad. You're now telling me she's my half-sister?" 

"According to my sources, Rex Perkins and Judith had Deirdre and October as fraternal twins. They are both 16, and while October is enrolled in high school Deirdre works at-" Julian had started. 

"The music shop Wainwright's," Marti finished, annoyance and hurt in her tone, "She lied right to my face. I gotta go." 

She grabbed her bag and quickly left without another word. Julian looked from her leaving to Wanda and the shot glass that had been refilled a third time. 

"Do you mind if I have one?" he asked, exhaustion evident in his voice. Wanda pulled another glass from the bar and filled one for him and slid it across to him. 

x*x 

Marti biked to Wainwright's in the next 15 minutes fuming. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say when she saw Deirdre, but she was sure going to figure out what the hell was going on. She walked in and recognized the older man that Deirdre had termed "been working there since forever." 

"Hey, do you know where a Deirdre Perkins is?" Marti asked, trying to sound polite. 

"Um, I'm afraid she just walked out," the old man replied, his eyes shifting toward the entrance noticeably. 

Marti followed his gaze and saw Deirdre signaling him to not look at her, "Hey!" 

Deirdre's eyes widened as she took off running. Marti sprinted out the entrance and ran after her down the street. She finally caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. 

"What is wrong with you?" Marti yelled, trying to keep her on the ground. 

Deirdre squirmed out of her grip however and flipped Marti's bag over, spilling it's contents out on the street. She took off again as Marti damned herself for bringing her bag with her and scrambled to pick up her things. Once she jammed everything in she started after her half-sister again. She caught up once again to have her shut a gated door in her face. Deirdre turned around and looked at Marti. Frustration built up and she yelled out in pure stress. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" 

Deirdre didn't say anything. She just turned around and walked off. 

Marti looked in disbelief. Her half-sister hated her, and she had no idea about the other one, but had a bad feeling that it wouldn't go well either. In defeat, she turned to go back and get her bike and go back to Cheertown. 

x*x 

"Hey, you look like you've seen a ghost," October Perkins said, taking a sip of water as her fraternal twin walked in. 

"Do you remember that girl I told you about that said Rex was her dad?" Deirdre asked, not being careful with her words she noticed October clench her fist, "Sorry." 

Once her fist unclenched she looked at her sister, "Yeah, I thought you said it was just a scam." 

"She came back today, asking for me," Deirdre said. 

"And you ran," October said. It wasn't a question. 

"You know I can't help it," Deirdre shot back, "I have avoidance behavior characteristics." 

"Still," October said, "You probably could've handled it smoother than that." 

"I don't care," Deirdre said, "I know what she wants to talk about, so I'm going to be ready for her tomorrow." 

"You could, you know, just talk to her," October said, switching the track on her iPod. The 13 on her wrist showing under her sleeve. 

"I still can't believe you got all of those tats," Deirdre said, "How do you not get in trouble with school?" 

"I'm one of the best students there," October said, "They can make an exception for me. And you're avoiding the conversation." 

"Yeah, but you also spent most of your college fund since you got your first one last year," Deirdre grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. 

"I'm allowed to," October said, ignoring the fact that she was still avoiding the original problem, "I already know that I have two scholarships in the running for me." 

"Graduating at 16," Deirdre said proudly, thumping her sister's shoulder, "Who'd have thought it?" 

October massaged her shoulder, but smiled at her, "Mom..." 

Both girls' eyes were downcast for a little moment until Deirdre looked up. 

"Hey, come on," she elbowed October's arm, "Let's tune out for a bit. Forget the world and about our problems for a bit." 

"Can't," October said, taking another drink from her water bottle, "Homework I need to finish. And Jasen is coming over tonight and taking me out to a movie." 

"Okay, well I'll play anyway nerd," Deirdre ran her hand through October's hair and messed it up even more, "You go do your geek thing with your boyfriend after you're finished with homework." 

October grabbed Deirdre's arm, preventing her from going anywhere, "Are you going to consider talking to her?" 

Deirdre looked her sister in the eyes. They were a cloudy blue at the moment, but she could still see the green that poked through completely after her eyes adjusted to the light. Deirdre pulled her hand from October's red hair and noticed the blond roots showing. 

"You look like a skunk with your roots showing," Deirdre ended the conversation and pulled her arm from October's grip. She walked out from the kitchenette and down the hallway to her bedroom. October heard the door open, but before it clicked shut she heard Deirdre call out. 

"I'll consider it," was all she said. 

October smiled contently and took another drink from her water bottle before moving to her bedroom to her desk and pulled her Chem II book out. A poster fell over near her bed, making her look back and hiss through her teeth in annoyance. 

"Dammit Imogen," she said, grabbing the tack that fell out and bouncing up on her bed to put it back up, "Why can't you stay up?" 

Disregarding the fact that the poster couldn't talk back, once October was satisfied that the poster wasn't going to fall she jumped to the floor and went back to start on her homework. 

Before she even picked up her pencil however, she put her iPod into the dock of her iHome and turned it on. The song that was last played started back up from where it was paused, only less-than-blaring out the song "Headlock" by the same artist that was on the poster, Imogen Heap. 

x*x

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><p><strong>Yes I am aware the chapter is short and not really eventful, but I'm working kinks and knots out of it. Before anyone thinks anything of it, I am a huge Imogen Heap fan and will most likely use her music throughout this story, among other songs by other artists as I see fit. It's a bit of a quirk with my stories. Again let me know how I'm doing! <strong>


	2. Expected and Unexpected Visits

**Glad to see a couple people are interested! I'm sorry for the lacking Marti/Julian moments, but i want to get the background on October and Deirdre before I get into that. So, enjoy!  
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><p>x*x<p>

Marti walked into Cheertown to find Dan and Savannah making a snack. 

"Met my half-sister today," Marti announced, throwing her jacket over a chair and looking at the couple, "She hates me." 

"I'm guessing the meeting went well," Dan joked. Then he noticed the look on Marti's face, "Too soon for jokes." 

Marti shook her head, "I had to chase her down the street and tackle her. If she doesn't want anything to do with me, I don't want anything to do with her!" 

"Marti you can't say that," Savannah said. Marti glared at her, but before she could argue, Savannah cut her off, "My sister is absolutely aggravating, annoys the hell out of me, and drives me insane, but I love her anyway because she's my sister. That's how it is; having a sister means you're always going to have family." 

Marti thought about it and realized that it did make sense, "All right then, I'll try again tomorrow." 

She started for her bedroom to get some sleep, but Dan suggested to her. 

"Piece of advice," he started and then pointed at her shoes, "Wear your running shoes." 

Marti nodded and smiled. 

"Not too soon for jokes," Dan muttered to Savannah as Marti walked into the bedroom in better spirits. 

x*x 

The next morning Marti pulled out her running shoes and left for Wainwright's for round two with her sister. She had the upper hand, however, when she brought some of the music Rex wrote with her. 

She noticed the old man at the entrance and he stopped her before going in. 

"I'm sorry that I lied to you yesterday," he said. 

"It's fine," Marti said, trying to go around him, but she was barred off again. 

"Rex isn't Deirdre's favorite subject to talk about," he explained, "I think it would be better for the both of you if you just left it." 

Marti realized she wasn't going to get through, so she handed him the sheets of music. 

"Can you at least give these to her? It's some of Rex's music that he wrote when I was younger," Marti explained as the man took them. 

"Are you sure? These are original copies," the old man looked at her in surprise. 

"Yeah, I'm sure," Marti nodded, and was about to walk off. 

"Wait," Deirdre called out, immediately regretting it when Marti turned back around, but she charged on anyways, "It's okay, she can come in." 

Marti followed Deirdre into the store and to the wall where she found Rex's set list. 

Deirdre picked up an acoustic and set the music down to where she could see it and started playing a couple of notes from the song. Marti was waiting for her to say something to start off what she could ask, but it never came.  
>Deirdre just kept strumming her guitar. Marti's eyebrows narrowed as she looked around and thought of a good place to start. <p>

"So, how come I've never seen October?" Marti asked, "You two usually fight or not get along in public or something?" 

"October doesn't really like going out in public during the day," Deirdre said, "She isn't very big on the sun. She's kind of noticeably pale. Loves the smell of sunscreen, but hates having to put it on and all that crap." 

"Oh," Marti said, kind of surprised by the bluntness of Deirdre's tone, "But I thought she goes to school?" 

"That's the only reason she's out during the day," Deirdre said, "She has a special parasol to go from her car and back from the school." 

"Uh-huh," Marti said, skeptical. 

"So you're my sister?" Deirdre finally said. 

"Yeah, so my sources say," Marti said, "Are you and October my only half-sisters?" 

"Who knows," Deirdre said vaguely, "When my mom died Rex went into a total relapse, brought random drug whores home, drank every night when he didn't have drugs. Then, one night when he left, he didn't come back." 

Marti didn't say anything. She instead tried to chew the information that Deirdre threw at her. 

"This is Rex's guitar," Deirdre said, "He gave me this while giving his electric to October." 

"I have a guitar from Rex," Marti said. Deirdre stopped playing and looked at her, "If you want, you could come over and look at it. Meet Wanda..." 

"Who's Wanda?" Deirdre asked. 

"My mom," Marti explained. 

"You still live with your mom?" she asked, her eyebrow quirked. 

"No, I live on Lancer's campus," Marti explained, feeling some kind of flow of conversation between them. 

"What's a Hellcat?" Deirdre asked, looking at the buttons on Marti's bag. 

"It's my cheer squad," Marti answered. 

"You're a cheerleader? Like with the little rah-rah, pom poms, and everything?" Deirdre jabbed. 

"Actually we're serious athletes," Marti defended. 

"Oh, well it can't be that serious if I outran you," Deirdre said patronizing. 

Marti glared at her, "I think I should go." 

She grabbed the sheet music and started walking. 

"Wait," Deirdre said, hating herself for asking the next question, "What time would be good to visit? Maybe I can convince October to withstand the sun for a little while." 

Marti smiled, "Any day, any time." 

Deirdre nodded and started for the back of the shop, "Cool." 

_'Ugh, October would be proud of me,'_Deirdre thought to herself. She pulled out her cell phone and hit speed dial one. The ringing tone switched to a drum intro that Deirdre knew had to be an Imogen Heap song from the way the drums were almost robotic sounding, as if someone tampered with the sound in a studio. 

"Hello?" October's voice fuzzed through. Deirdre moved over toward a window for chances of better service. 

"Hey, I talked to that chick," Deirdre said. 

"You mean the one claiming to be our half-sister?" October asked, "Do you even know what her name is?" 

Deirdre thought about it and realized that she never asked, "She could have mentioned it herself, but she never did." 

"You didn't ask," October said, "Well, you talked to her, so that's a start." 

"She wants us to come over to her mom's sometime," Deirdre said, getting to the point of calling, "Would you want to do that?" 

"Uh, what kind of question is that?" October asked, "Of course I would." 

"You want to try for tomorrow?" Deirdre asked, "Apparently she has a guitar too. That's why I wanted to go." 

"Uh-huh," October said, comprehension in her tone when she knew her sister had a reason for wanting to go, "Sure, tomorrow works." 

"All right," Deirdre said, then remembering that October was at school, "Wait, you're not in class are you?" 

"Yeah," October said, "But the teacher is who I pretty much assist in any way I can. She doesn't care." 

"Are you sure?" Deirdre asked, "I really don't want you kicked out of school." 

"I'm sitting on the floor behind her at her desk," October explained, "I'm pretty sure if she cared, she would have said something by now." 

"Okay, well I'll leave you be," Deirdre said, "Don't be too nerdy, else your boyfriend will leave you." 

October ignored the joke, "I still can't believe we have a half-sister." 

"Me either," Deirdre said, ending the conversation and sliding her phone closed. 

She stood there by the window a little longer, deep in thought. Deirdre wasn't sure if she would have to explain to her half-sister about how October hated talking about Rex. Not in the same way as Deirdre, but the fact of what happened... 

Deirdre heard Pops calling for her to help out with opening the store and she walked out of the back room to do so. She would think of something sooner or later. 

x*x 

October was being walked to her car by Jasen, one hand in his while her other hand was holding on to the parasol that Deirdre gave her as a gift when she started high school and sunscreen became unbearable. 

"Something on your mind?" Jasen asked, his sapphire blue eyes looking at her facial features distorted in thought. 

"Remember how I told you about Deirdre and I having a half-sister?" she asked, looking at him. 

"Yeah, you also mentioned that she wanted to find out about you-know-who," Jasen said, feeling October's grip tightening in his hand, he rubbed his thumb in circles over her hand until she relaxed it. 

"Yeah," October's voice lowered to a whisper, "Deirdre and I are visiting her tomorrow." 

"Do you want me there with you?" he asked, opening her car door for her with his other hand. 

"No, I need it to be a small population for Deirdre," October reasoned, sitting in the driver's seat of the old Volvo. 

"Right," Jasen said, leaning against the door, earning another creaky groan from the car, "What exactly is the visit for?" 

"Apparently Deirdre wants to check out the guitar our half-sister has," October said sighing, "She got it from the same guy Deirdre and I got our guitars." 

"Hmm," was all Jasen said. 

"I'm not going to stress out too much over it," October said, taking a deep breath, "I actually have no homework today, so I'm going to unwind tonight by noodling about until I'm knackered." 

"Been watching those video blogs again?" Jasen smiled at her British colloquialisms. 

October punched at his arm, "I can't help it. They're funny and they help me out with ideas. And they are Imogen Heap...why else would I want to watch them over and over again?" 

Jasen smirked and nudged her shoulder, "Should I come over tonight to be your support in how it sounds?" 

October pulled at the tie he was wearing and pecked him on the lips, "Sure. Maybe after I'm washed of creative energy we can watch a movie. I recently bought the special edition of _Happy Gilmore_." 

"Sounds good," Jasen whispered, kissing her back. He pulled away and moved to his car. October smiled and shut the door of her car and turned the key. The engine roared to life as she turned up the volume of her CD player. 

Jasen could hear the unmistakable voice of Imogen Heap flowing out of the tinted windows of her car and smiled. She was obsessed, but it was a healthy obsession. 

He brought his own car to life and had his iPod plugged in. Imogen's music started playing, but it was October's voice instead. He had synced her covers onto his iPod without her knowing, and he wasn't biased in saying that she was as good as the "Great Miss Heap." He could easily see a collaboration if it were ever thought of, but she wouldn't agree. He would figure out a way to make her see it though. 

October had left the parking lot and drove toward the apartment that Deirdre – with the major help of Pops – pays for. She locked up her car and walked into the complex, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. 

She felt a hand over her mouth and she was forcibly pulled over toward the wall. October's muscles tensed up and she was about to maneuver her way out of the hold until she realized who it was. 

"Tomorrow night," the voice whispered, "There's fresh meat to tenderize." 

The hand left October's face and she nodded, "Well, I'll make sure to bring my cleaver, just in case they prove difficult." 

"It'll start at eleven o'clock," the voice said urgently. 

"I'll be there Viper, don't worry," October reasoned with the woman. 

"You better be 'Tober, you're our best player," Viper said, a little of the worry and anxiety leaving her tone. 

"I didn't get these scars from doing nothing," October's lips curled up in a half-smile, "Who paid off the police this time?" 

"Trick did," Viper explained, "Hopefully we'll be able to play without interference like last time. That was a close call." 

"We got our money anyways," October reasoned, "I'll be there, but make sure the team is in at 10:45 sharp instead. I want to make sure of no foul play." 

"Right," Viper said, "I'll let them know. See you then leader." 

October nodded and started for the stairs again. The next night daunting over her, but the rent was coming up, and she wanted to make sure they had enough money in case Deirdre couldn't pay it. Some sacrifices and risks had to be made. October unlocked the door and walked in, locking the door before walking into the kitchenette and grabbing another bottle of water. She caught a look at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She walked up toward it and stared at herself. 

_'Deirdre was right,'_ October thought, running a couple fingers through her hair, _'I do kinda look like a skunk.'_

She brushed her hair back from her face and a small, jagged scar showed about half-way up her jaw. She ran her thumb over the pink skin that had healed so long ago. Chills ran down her spine as she became aware of the larger scar down her left shoulder. Running through the bat wing inked in her skin. Although, the scar had been there long before any ink had been tattooed into her skin. October looked at her eyes, looking like dark slabs of onyx in the limited light, the dark skin bruising under them from lack of sleep because of the recurring nightmares recently. 

_She was only six years old. Telling off her dad...a splitting shriek from her as pain spliced through her shoulder. All of the blood...obscuring vision...everything swirling into black as Deirdre looked at her, terror written on her features as she ran to get help..._

The door opened suddenly and October jumped about a foot and turned to find Deirdre walking in. 

"Whoa, October, are you okay?" Deirdre asked, "I didn't mean to startle you. I could've knocked." 

"It's fine," October said, her voice raspy all of a sudden. She cleared it before continuing, "It's fine, really, I was just-" 

"Thinking?" Deirdre finished. 

October nodded. Deirdre came over and gave her a hug. October's eyes widened at the gesture. 

"It's okay," Deirdre said understanding, "He's never coming back." 

Deirdre pulled away, her hands still on her sister's shoulders. October regarded her with an odd look. 

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" October asked, "She doesn't hug." 

Deirdre punched her in the arm. October completely lost feeling in it as she grabbed where Deirdre gave her the dead arm. 

"Ah," October said in mock-realization, "There she is...ouch." 

Deirdre laughed and walked to the fridge, "What do you want for dinner tonight? I reckon we have enough stuff here to not make a Mickey D's trip." 

October smiled, "I don't care, but keep in mind; Jasen is coming over later." 

"Movie-Music Night?" Deirdre asked. 

"Yeah," October answered. 

"Is he staying the night or is he actually going home this time?" Deirdre asked slyly. 

"Shut up, you know he falls asleep as soon as the opening credits of a movie start," October said, "Sometimes I end up falling asleep first and he doesn't see any point in leaving. _Nothing_ goes on." 

"Whatever you say Oct, whatever you say," Deirdre joked, "I'm making spaghetti, with Alfredo sauce instead of marinara. Is that okay?" 

"Yeah that's fine," October shouted from her bedroom, "I'm going to just tune out for a bit in my room." 

"What? My nerd-sister doesn't have any precious homework to do? Gasp!" Deirdre shouted back, laughing when the usual "Shut up!" from October called out. 

Deirdre pulled out the ingredients and started on making dinner. Her mind completely forgetting about the next day with the visit. Instead, Deirdre was more curious about the weird girl that walked out of the entrance of the apartments when she was waiting for the elevator. She had her hair dyed black, with red contacts in and snake bite lip piercings. She also had a pair of tricked out roller blades with her. When they made eye contact, the girl's eyes narrowed and she snarled at her. Deirdre's eyebrow quirked up at the hostile behavior, but remembered where she was living. The crazies probably came out a little earlier for some weird reason. 

She heard some crazy noises from her sister's room as October began tinkering with everyday noises. Deirdre felt relieved that her sister was odd and weird, but she was smarter than to go running around with crazy people. 

x*x 

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><p><strong>Ok, so hopefully this made a couple of you intrigued! A small tidbit for you readers: the "game" October takes part in is close to a Fight Club kind of deal. Same rules in a way, only completely different<strong>


	3. Skeletons

**New Chapter! As always enjoy!  
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><p>x*x <p>

October was a little jittery about the visit. As she drove to the address that Deirdre had told her to go to, she couldn't feel her fingers from gripping the steering wheel so tight they fell asleep. She pulled into the parking lot anyways, got her parasol out and ready for sun-blocking, and locked up her car when Deirdre was out. October shook her hands for the pins and needles feeling in her fingers to go away. She turned to face the building and felt the butterflies in her stomach turn to lead, stopping her from moving. 

Deirdre noticed and stopped as well and turned to look at her, "What's wrong?" 

October's palms were slick with sweat, "I don't know if I can do this D." 

October hated that the fear was evident in her voice. 

"They don't bite Oct," Deirdre joked, moving to her sister and putting an arm around her shoulders. "From what I know at least." 

October took a deep breath in and let it rattle out. She nodded and started walking with Deirdre still holding her. 

They had gotten to the door when October felt the urge to bail out again. 

"D, I seriously think I can't do this," October tried hard to keep the tears from her tone, but she couldn't, "What if she starts asking more questions?" 

She could understand why Deirdre was seeming so fearless. All she wanted was to see the damn guitar. Before Deirdre could answer, the door had opened to show a woman in her early 20s. Blond hair, green eyes just like Deirdre's, and tall. October's skin paled more than what should have been possible and she made to walk off, but Deirdre forcibly grabbed her arm and dragged her over. There was no way in hell she was going to leave her alone with this girl. 

"You came!" Marti said, noticing that the girl with Deirdre had to be October. She also noticed that she tried to walk off and seemed pretty freaked out. 

"Yeah," Deirdre said, looking at October. She walked into the apartment with her twin in tow. 

"This is October," Deirdre said, letting go of October's arm, "Oct, this is the crazy girl that tackled me and is our half-sister." 

"Marti," Marti said, her eyebrows narrowing, "Marti Perkins." 

October wanted to say something back, but her legs were shaking and she felt like she would vomit if she opened her mouth. Marti could tell that she wasn't as used to people as Deirdre and from the look of it, she looked about ready to be sick. 

"The bathroom is down the hall and to the right if you...need to..." Marti awkwardly stated, and October bolted in the direction Marti said. 

"Sorry," Deirdre said. It didn't seem very sincere, "She's not used to people she's never met. Also the fact that everything that's been coming out about you being a half-sister just adds pressure. She isn't really good with that either." 

"She seemed nice though," Marti said, "I can't imagine what was going through her mind." 

"Like you actually care," Deirdre muttered. 

"What?" Marti asked, but she heard exactly what Deirdre said. 

"Where's the guitar?" Deirdre asked, saving face. 

"Right here," Marti said, picking it up and handing it to Deirdre, who immediately sat down and started strumming. 

There was a shuffle of steps and Marti turned to see October standing over by the hallway. Her reddish hair hanging in front of her face. Marti could see the blond roots creeping through though. 

"How are you feeling?" Marti asked. 

"Better," came October's croaky reply. 

"Do you want a glass of water?" Marti asked. 

"No need Marti," Wanda said, coming around October with a tray of glasses, "I've got this covered." 

October took a glass from the tray and gratefully started to gulp down the water, but said a quick "thanks" in between breaths. 

"It's no problem darlin'," Wanda said, and looked up to see Deirdre looking at her, "Wow, I couldn't tell so much from the picture, but you look just like Rex." 

Marti noticed that the tension in the room thickened to be like a brick to the face. There was a crash of glass and everyone looked over to find October standing completely still as if frozen. The glass remnants at her feet. Thankfully she had drank all of the water, so it was only the glass that Wanda had to worry about. 

"Are you alright?" Marti asked, getting up and walking over to October. The poor girl looked scared out of her wits. Marti noticed she was trembling uncontrollably. 

"You don't want to mention him around her," Deirdre said, calm as if nothing happened, "Bad memories only. Nothing good about him." 

"I agree with you one-hundred percent," Wanda said, "All he ever did was get high when he was around. If it wasn't that he was off trying to write songs." 

October finally seemed to snap back to reality, "I'm so sorry." 

"It's quite all right honey," Wanda reassured her, "That man was always bad news." 

October blinked a couple of times, almost as if making sure that the woman was telling the truth. Then Marti saw her mouth quirk up into an honest-to-God smile. 

"I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself, knowing Marti hasn't," the woman said, "Wanda Perkins." 

"October," October said, bending down to help pick up the pieces. 

"So I've heard," Wanda said, "Now why wasn't there a picture of you? With a face and smile as pretty as your's...do the boys crowd up around you at school?" 

October's grin came back with a small laugh that showed her surprise at the compliment, "No...not really." 

"She's taken," Deirdre said bluntly, "Also, she doesn't like her picture being taken." 

"Thanks Deirdre," October said, a little venom included, "I'm sure that that was a given to them." 

"Well how about we tell them about your little disfigurement?" Deirdre spat out, "Hm? Give Marcy a reason to hate Rex just as much as the rest of us." 

"Um, it's Marti," Marti said, a little more than annoyed, but curious all the same about what was going on. 

"Don't Deirdre," October breathed out, her eyes widened and Marti could see sadness in them, "Why do you do this?" 

"Why don't you tell them all about that night?" Deirdre asked; the guitar strumming had stopped and she had gotten louder, "Why don't you tell them how much of a monster he really is?" 

"I'm gonna go clean this up," Wanda said, realizing the heaviness of the situation and running to the hallway. Marti looked in her direction, seething at her mom leaving her to deal with the quarreling sisters. 

"Deirdre," October said, tears started running down her cheeks, "Stop." 

Marti heard the urgency and desperation in her tone and looked to Deirdre, "Why are you yelling at her?" 

"Tell her October," Deirdre yelled at her sister, "Better yet, _show _her!" 

"Stop!" October yelled, she brought her hands up to her head and fisted them in her hair. 

The silence hit Marti with what felt like a physical force. The tension that was in the air softened a bit and October's eyes were narrowed at Deirdre. 

"_If looks could kill,"_Marti thought, almost able to picture the swords – rather than daggers – pointed straight at her sister. 

"If she really wants to know," October started, and Marti could tell something snapped inside. October's stance had changed into a defensive mode, whereas her voice was strong and controlling, "She'll ask about it." 

October's glare switched onto Marti and they made eye contact. What Marti saw chilled her to the bone. October – even though she had some kind of change in characteristic – had a pleading in her eyes to show that she doesn't mean to come off as cold and hateful. Marti knew that from just the one glance that October truly wanted her to choose. Even if Marti said she wanted to – which she kind of did – October would tell her, no matter how painful it was. 

"I want to know," Marti said, apologizing with her eyes to October. 

The message seemed to pass as October nodded. 

"As we all know, Rex Perkins had a drug abuse problem," October began, and Marti saw Wanda peeking around the corner in the hallway, "That wasn't his only problem..." 

October looked back up and Marti saw her eyes darken, "...when he wasn't high, he was drunk. 

"One night, I tried to tell him off and help him by telling him drinking every night like he did – or so it seemed, I was only six at the time, I didn't know anything about drugs – and well...he didn't mean to, it was a drunken mistake-" October stopped suddenly, biting her lower lip as if deciding whether or not to keep going. 

October looked up suddenly and brushed her hair from her face. Marti thought she had made the decision of not continuing, until she saw the faint pink, almost white line that ran down the left side of her jaw. Marti felt the effect to be almost anticlimactic, but she kept quiet. 

"He didn't realize the bottle was broken," October trudged on, "He didn't notice that he slapped me with it. He also wasn't aware that when I turned away from the slap that it ran down my back." 

Marti was filled with cold dread at that last sentence. Her brain went numb and almost didn't want to comprehend when October turned around and brought her shirt up. 

The first thing Marti noticed was the ink. This girl had quite a few tats for only being 16. Then, when the shirt was brought up to show what looked like bat wings under the bra straps was when she saw it. 

A large, dark pink scar that looked at if a dog or wolf clawed down her back. There was a deep pink blotch in the midst of it, showing Marti that the bottle stopped and somehow shoved in. Marti felt dizzy all of a sudden. The fact that October was six when it all happened... 

"How are you still alive?" Marti asked; it was all she could manage. 

"Me," Deirdre said, "There was blood everywhere. October was completely out, but I wouldn't have even known if she hadn't screamed." 

Marti looked from October's back to Deirdre. She was looking at October's back still, and Marti could almost see a glint of fear among the hate in her eyes. 

"But you know what the worst part is?" Deirdre said, her façade cracking as her voice shook from angry tears, "That bastard just sat down and fell asleep! He was so drunk he didn't realize he almost killed his daughter!" 

October had put her shirt back and was looking at Deirdre sympathetically, "He didn't realize D-" 

"That's no _excuse_!" Deirdre yelled, "You could have died and he wouldn't have known or cared. As long as the buzz or high was running great, he didn't give a rat's ass about us!" 

Marti saw now why Rex wasn't Deirdre's favorite thing to talk about. He couldn't take care of himself enough to take care of anyone around him. He was a walking disaster...Marti also figured that October must hate hearing his name because even though she rationalized about the situation from so long ago, she still hadn't forgiven him. 

Marti looked at Deirdre, but before she could say anything Deirdre lashed out first. 

"Why else do you think she wants to know about him?" Deirdre said, "She cares more about finding some form of a good thing about him than she does us!" 

Marti was taken aback, "That's not true! I could care less about him now that I realize he wasn't any better off with you than he was with me!" 

October just looked back and forth from Deirdre and Marti, "Once a monster always a monster, no matter how dull the claws get as the years go on." 

Marti and Deirdre looked at her, "What?" they said in unison. 

"He was a monster when he left you," October said to Marti, "He went through rehab, got de-clawed in a way, but the claws only grew back when our mom died." 

Marti looked at her as if that was the craziest thing that was ever said. Yet, it made sense in a poetic way. 

"You're insane," Deirdre shouted. 

October only shrugged, "Runs in the family apparently." 

Deirdre glared at her sister while October coolly looked back. Marti saw that October looked exhausted from revealing what was probably the biggest skeleton in her closet. 

"Well, I think that this was a charming visit and everything, but I have to get to work," Wanda said, coming out of the hallway, "It was great meeting you two." 

Marti looked a little sheepish at her mom's behavior. 

"Sorry," Marti started when Wanda left, "She gets that way when there's something stressful happens." 

"It's one hell of a defense mechanism," October said, "But it won't solve the problem." 

"Try telling her that," Marti said, smirking a little. 

"I would," October said, "But she'd probably just leave again." 

Marti wasn't expecting humor to come from October at a time like this. She couldn't help but laugh. October joined in a little and Marti noticed they had a similar laugh. 

"We need to go," Deirdre said, a little forcefully. 

"Okay, okay," October said. She turned to Marti, "It was good meeting you, even though I ralphed and everything else that decided to crash in." 

"It was good meeting you too," Marti said, "Even with everything that happened." 

"Til next time?" October asked, holding out her hand. 

Marti looked at it and took it, pulling October over for a hug. She was happy to feel October return the hug. 

"Hopefully it won't be too long," Marti said, ruffling October's hair. 

"Boy, you really do have the cheerleader thing going for you," October said, poking Marti in the abdomen. 

"Are you in sports?" Marti asked, as October grabbed her parasol from the wall. 

"Used to be in softball," October answered, "Things have been pretty quiet since then though." 

"Really?" Marti asked grabbing October's arm, "You're lying, you must be doing something." 

"It's all the textbooks she tugs around," Deirdre said expressionless. 

"Really? I didn't think sophomores in high school got so much work," Marti said. 

"That's because I'm graduating this year," October said, a small smile playing out on her lips. 

"Whoa, seriously?" Marti asked, eyes wide in surprise, "That's awesome! What do you want to get into? Do you know what college you want to go to?" 

Before October could say anything else, Deirdre stepped in, "We have to go! I'm going to be late for work!" 

October looked over at her sister warily and pulled out her cell phone, "What's your number?" 

Marti gave it to her and October hit the call button, Marti's phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket. 

"Now we have each other's numbers," October said, grinning, "See you whenever M." 

"See you Oct," Marti said with a grin to match. 

The look on Deirdre's face kind of put a damper on Marti's mood when she decided to get her things and leave for Cheertown. She didn't understand what was with her. 

x*x 

October was about to open the door to her Volvo when Deirdre thrust her leg up and kicked it back shut. 

"We need to talk," Deirdre started, her expression showing that she wasn't happy. She leaned against the car door with her arms crossed and looked at her sister. 

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all like where I'm going with this! Will try to put a MartiJulian scene in the next chapter!  
><strong>


	4. Closed Doors

**New Chapter! And it has Julian/Marti in it! Maybe not as much but it's a tease for you all! Haha, so enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>x*x <p>

"What's up?" October asked, already knowing where it was going. 

"You are way too trusting," Deirdre went straight to the point, "How do you know that she won't leave right as soon as she realizes that we don't have anymore information about him?" 

"She's not like anyone D," October said defiantly, "I can feel it. She's a good person and I'm glad that she is our half-sister." 

Deirdre shook his head, her eyes narrowed, "Are you really this stupid when it comes to common sense? Think about it! She's just like everyone else, and she is a cheerleader! A bobble-head full of air that won't stop to think about anyone except for herself." 

October sighed, "Why do you have such trust issues Deirdre? Is it really that dangerous to trust a girl who is the only family we have bloodline wise?" 

"I don't want us to be left alone again," Deirdre said. 

"That's your excuse for everything!" October shouted, "And you know what? I don't even want to argue with you about it anymore!" October laughed humorlessly, "The one thing that I always wanted was the chance that family could be there to fall back on...she's is that family." 

October looked at her sister to see what her reaction would be. When Deirdre said nothing else, October huffed in finality of the argument and opened the door even with Deirdre still there. 

"Get in the car," October growled, turning the key in the ignition, "Just five minutes ago you were freaking about being late to work." 

Deirdre's expression was fierce and she swiftly walked to the other side of the car and got in. October pulled out of the parking lot and took the shortest way to Wainwright's she could find. The sooner she could get her sister off her back, the sooner she could fuel her anger into the game that night. It was only about three o'clock, but October felt the sudden urge to apply for a certain college, which she knew would take a while. 

As soon as she dropped off her sister, October drove to Lancer University. She walked into the administration office and went to the registration desk. 

"Hi," the woman said, "How may I help you?" 

"I'm here to apply for classes possibly," October said, "Fall term most likely." 

"How old are you?" the woman asked, surveying October over her glasses. 

"Sixteen, but I'm graduating this year," October said, "I go to school at Jacksonville High. My name is October Perkins." 

"Perkins?" a voice asked, October looked around to see a woman walking over, "Is there any chance you're related to Marti Perkins?" 

"Yeah, actually," October said, "I'm her half-sister. Just recently came upon that fact though. Who are you?" 

"Vanessa, the Hellcats cheer coach," Vanessa said, "Are you interested in any scholarships? You can get one through becoming a Hellcat." 

"Sorry," October said, "Not much of a cheerleader, plus I have two scholarships riding for me from my school." 

"Really?" Vanessa asked, "How old are you?" 

"Sixteen, I skipped seventh grade," October said, "My birthday is in April." 

"So you'll be seventeen before the summer?" Vanessa asked, "What programs are you interested here at Lancer?" 

"Forensics lab technician," October said with a smile, "I was thinking of taking pre-requisites here and get to know Marti more this way, and then I'm off to Knoxville." 

"What's in Knoxville?" Vanessa asked, leaning against the desk. 

October's eyes glinted, "Body farm." 

Vanessa's eyebrows rose, "That's right, I almost forgot about that. You aren't bothered by the dead bodies then?" 

"Not really," October said, "Well, the ones I've seen on television shows haven't and they look pretty lifelike." 

Vanessa nodded, "You know, the Hellcats could use a mascot…Marti stays in the co-ed housing called Cheertown. Since you aren't much of a cheerleader, maybe a costume would fit. Certainly could be Halloween every day for you and you could stay in Cheertown too." 

October laughed at the joke, "I wouldn't mind. I do a little parkour on the side, how hard could it be to do a couple of flips with a suit on?" 

Vanessa smiled, liking the girl's enthusiasm, "Tell you what, come by when we practice. We're having it today at four; if you have nowhere to be at the moment that is." 

"No, actually," October said, "I only came here to get registration papers. I'd love to hang around and see the campus." 

"Here you go Ms. Perkins," the woman at the registration desk said, holding out a pack of papers, "Fill these out and send a copy of your transcript." 

"Thanks," October said, and then turned to Vanessa, "Is there a pen at Cheertown?" 

Vanessa smiled and led the way, "You know, for someone who says they aren't exactly cheerleader material, you are extremely enthusiastic." 

"I'll take that as a compliment," October chuckled, walking in pace with Vanessa. 

x*x 

Four o'clock was coming up, but Marti could have cared less. When she left Wanda's she went straight to Julian's law firm. There weren't really any leads so the day was pretty slow, which explained Julian's expression going from exhaustion to the giddiness of a school boy when he saw her. 

"Hi," he said, casually leaning against the door frame and putting his hands in his pockets. 

"Hey yourself," Marti said. 

"How did the meeting with the sisters go?" Julian asked, moving so Marti could walk in. 

Marti took the initiative and walked in towards his office, "It was…well, October was spooked so much she barfed, Deirdre only wanted to play Rex's guitar that was left to me, and then next thing I know, both of them are screaming at each other about Rex almost killing October." Marti raised her arms as if presenting something, "Other than that, it was the best meeting ever!" 

Julian ignored the sarcasm and closed his office door, "Rex almost killed October?" 

"It was a drunken mistake, he slapped her with the wrong hand," Marti said, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his chest. 

"What was wrong with the hand he slapped her with?" Julian asked, kissing the top of her head and putting his hands around her waist. 

"It had a broken bottle in it," Marti said, feeling comfort immediately. 

"I'm guessing that October isn't much of a daddy's girl then," Julian said. 

"That's just it though," Marti said, pulling away to look him in the eyes, "She kept trying to defend him; it was Deirdre that was damning him." 

Julian's chocolate brown eyes churned in confusion, "That doesn't really make any sense." 

"Well, Deirdre isn't one to make much sense," Marti said, "But it could be that October is still trying to figure out how to forgive him while Deirdre was traumatized by almost losing her sister." 

"She saw it?" Julian's eyes widened in surprise, "Now it makes sense." 

"She was the one who called the ambulance," Marti explained, kissing under his chin. 

"I get the feeling you can talk about it later," Julian said, his fingers gripping her sides as he brought her up to his lips. 

Marti's smirk against his told him he was correct. He brought her up on his desk and began caressing her neck with his mouth, teeth, and tongue. 

"Julian," Marti said with difficulty, as she was losing touch with rational thought when he made it to her collarbone, "You are aware that we are not at your house." 

Julian nipped the middle point of her collarbone, "I am aware," he kissed his way slowly up her neck and kissed her lips. Leaning his forehead against hers, he looked straight into her eyes, "That's why I locked the door." 

Marti's eyes sparkled mischievously and she bit his lower lip, "We'll have to be quiet then." 

Julian's mouth quirked up, "I don't know if that's possible with you." 

Marti ignored the jibe and wrapped her legs around him, "I have the tendency to surprise you though." 

The two lost themselves in the moment almost as quickly as their clothes. 

x*x 

Marti found herself halfway to Lancer for practice at five minutes after four. She didn't realize what time it was until the alarm on her phone went off for the third time. She had fallen asleep on Julian's chest on the floor of his office. When she actually looked at the time she jumped up and scrambled for her clothes, which were all over the place. Once she was dressed, she looked to find Julian putting on his pants.

"I'm sorry," Marti apologized, "Cheer practice starts in ten minutes." 

"Cheer practice seems to be a problem with us," Julian joked while he reached for his button up white shirt, "Whether it's a rude awakening to reality or it's tardiness of a class, it seems to never pick a good time." 

Marti shook her head and smiled, and then went to give him a kiss before walking over to his door. She waited for him to get fully dressed so it didn't seem like anything really happened. Although, she didn't really know what he could do with his hair. It definitely didn't look that way when they first walked in…but it wasn't that bad looking. Marti smiled and decided that anyone who noticed could deal with it. 

With one last kiss, Julian unlocked the door and let Marti leave, "I'll see you soon hopefully." 

Marti looked back and smiled coyly, "Maybe." 

Now, Marti was racing through the hallway and into the locker rooms to change into her cheer uniform. Once she had it on, it was four-ten. However, instead of running into the gym, she found something else going on instead of the cheer routine. 

Everyone was there, and there was music, but there was a costumed figure doing back flips and handstands in the middle of the floor. Marti found Savannah and went to find out what was going on. 

"Hey," Savannah said, smiling, "Like our new mascot?" 

"Mascot?" Marti asked, and looked to see that the costume was a blue wildcat with gold flames coming from its eyes and claws. The tail was bobbed and the costume was pretty good looking. Whoever was in it knew their moves. Marti couldn't tell who it was, but they ran up the side of the wall and did a perfect 360 spin and landed in a crouch just like a cat would. 

The Hellcats cheered as the mascot went from the crouch to a handstand and walked on their hands across the floor. It was in perfect beat with the music, which Marti had never heard of, but the beat was definitely rocking. 

"All right Hellcats," Vanessa called out for their attention, and the mascot did a backbend and stood up next to Vanessa, "What do you think?" 

Marti clapped with the rest of the Hellcats as the mascot bowed and pulled off the head. Red hair with blond roots tangled out and flipped back to show the steel green eyes of October. Marti's jaw just about dropped as October grinned at her. Marti instead just walked up to her and wrapped her in a hug. 

"What are you doing here?" Marti asked overjoyed, looking at her. 

"Well, if you don't want me here I can leave," October mocked, pointing her thumb at the door behind her. 

Marti playfully punched October in the arm, "Whatever, how did you get in here?" 

"That would be my doing," Vanessa said, putting a hand on October's shoulder. One of the Hellcats came over with an iPod and handed it to October. 

"Why didn't you tell me you could do all that?" Marti asked October. 

"I forgot to mention I do a little parkour every now and then," October shrugged. 

"We need to figure out how to figure her into the routine," Vanessa said, "Maybe not for nationals, but for the football games." 

Marti smiled and threw her arm over October's shoulder, "She can sit for now and watch while we practice then." 

Vanessa nodded, "She needs to finish filling out registration papers anyway." 

Marti looked at October in shock for the second time, "Are you serious? You're considering going here?" 

October smiled and wrapped her arms around her waist in a hug, "Heck yeah, are you kidding? I've heard that Lancer's chemistry programs are top notch." 

"Chemistry?" Marti asked, "Really? You want to be a scientist?" 

"Forensics," October said. 

"You should see her talk about the body farm," Vanessa said smiling. 

"No," Savannah intervened, her eyes wide in fear, "No, you really shouldn't. I've heard enough to be scared for my life." 

"Savannah, it's not that bad," October said, "It's just the maggot part that you couldn't stand." 

Savannah gagged and Marti started laughing. 

"You're a sick freak you know that?" Marti ruffled her hand in October's hair. 

"Hey! I'm not as sick as the freaks I hope to put in jail," October said, playfully pushing Marti's hand away. 

"I say it with love," Marti said grabbing October in a bone breaking hug before letting her go and going over to the Hellcats with Savannah. 

"You ready to see how cheerleading really is?" Vanessa asked as October took a seat by the wall. 

October smirked, "Sure, why not?" 

She pulled over the papers and started back on them while the Hellcats warmed up. 

"Okay Hellcats!" Savannah yelled out, "We have a skeptic in the room. Are you all ready to prove her wrong?" 

The Hellcats cheered as October put her papers to the side again and laced her fingers behind her head. 

Music started up as the Hellcats took their positions. Then, October realized after five minutes, that cheerleading was hardcore. It was unbelievable! The bases throwing up the flyers in the air and catching them. It was all trust, showing October that Deirdre was wrong to suspect Marti of being untrustworthy. If someone could trust someone else enough that they were going to catch them, they would know how to be trusting. 

When they finished the routine October stuck the end of the pen in her mouth and stood up to applaud. 

"So totally wasn't expecting _that_," October said, taking out the pen, "I could get used to this, maybe even come up with routines to match up with it." 

Marti grinned exuberantly and ran to hug her. She could get used to having October around as a younger sister. Deirdre might come around once she saw how much fun October was having.

Then again, Deirdre was just different altogether. 

October noticed that an hour had passed, "Oh, I gotta go, I have something I need to do tonight and if I want those papers done I can't hang around here. I'm easily distracted." 

Marti smiled and gave her one last hug before she shed the costume and gave it to Vanessa. 

"There'll be a locker for you when you come back," Vanessa said, "Along with a room for you in Cheertown when fall comes around." 

October turned around and walked backward as she saluted Vanessa in thanks and waved to everyone. 

x*x

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><p><strong>So, the next chapter will have what this mysterious game is! Who's excited? Haha<br>**


	5. The Game

**Sorry for the wait! It was a long chapter to write :P hope you enjoy this side of October's life though!  
><strong>

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><p>x*x<p>

October made it home in time to grab her gear from under the floorboards in her room. She took off her t-shirt and strapped on the padded vest. After that came the elbow pads and knee pads, however, these had thorn-like spikes curving out of them. She grabbed her helmet with stickers of bird silhouettes, a tree of life, and a glowing vortex of ellipses. All Imogen Heap of course, with an occasional spike sticking out; last, but not least were the skates. They were red and black with spikes lining the front. Before putting them on though, she made sure to go down the stairs first. Last time she tried going down three flights of stairs…it didn't go so well. She then made sure to grab the softball bat with the red word 'Wicked' emblazoned on it. 

Once she was in the lobby, she laced up her blades and started out for the warehouse the arena was in. 

Tonight was going to be fresh pickings in the Game. 

There were a couple of narrow misses on the way. Mainly trash cans got in her way, but the cars that day were absolutely ridiculous. It was almost as if fate was trying to keep her from the arena. 

She had her ear buds in and was listening to "Bad Body Double" by – surprise, surprise – Imogen Heap. It was a good beat to skate to and the lyrics helped motivate her to exercise more often. Also the lyrics always brought a smile to her face every time the dimply thighs part comes up. 

She bobbed her head to the beat as she slowed down to enter through the hidden whole in the gate to the warehouses. She ended up getting stuck because all the spikes she was wearing kept getting caught. So, she ended up being a couple of minutes late. 

"Let me guess," Viper said, relief showing through her furious façade, "The notorious fence latches on again!" 

"I can't help it," October said, "The spikes help intimidate just as much as offend and defend." 

"Well you're a minute late captain," Viper said, and then turned to the team, which consisted of about 12 people including Viper, "Hey, let's take the arena." 

October smiled as the team formed a line at the starting line, warm-ups were always a given when she was in softball, and even though none of the other teams did it, she made sure her team did them every chance they could get. The middle of the line was open for her, which she gladly took. 

"Oct!" a voice called out from the booth. 

"Hey Striker!" October said, waving to him, "How's everything been running?" 

"Why don't you and your team see for yourselves?" Striker – a tall, muscular type with a tattoo of script running down the right half of his face. Along the right side of his body, so he says – announced and a bullhorn sounded. 

October took her starting stance alongside her team, Viper at her right side. The bullhorn sounded for a second time as October led her team in a V-shape. Keeping her bat handy just in case, October picked up speed. The race was on as the first obstacle showed itself. 

A couple of panels on the floor started to spin rapidly, which October and her team grazed by smoothly without losing balance. However, the formation was dissipated, which meant everyone was for themselves until they teamed back up with a partner. If the two in the partnership were separated, they would swing around to another team member to be a new partner. Almost moving as if they were an amoeba. 

The next obstacle was a tricky one compared to the floor panels. Two yards down from the last obstacle, about five pipes shot out of the side of the arena. October bent back and slid across the floor on her knees, missing the pipes by inches. Strict stamina and sharp reflexes were needed in the game, especially when another team is trying to beat you out of the arena. 

Once she cleared the pipes, October pushed the bat behind her to get her upright just as another obstacle came up. The wall split to spit out shards of glass out on the floor, making October's eyes widen in shock. Recovering herself, she moved faster toward the glass and leaped up in the air to spin horizontally over the glass and righting herself to land on her knees. It was a hard fall, but the pads absorbed enough of the force in order to get back up and keep moving. 

October wasn't quite sure how the rest of the team was doing, and it was this part of the game that she hated. Usually the game is played with an every man for himself mindset, but October cared for her team. It was like their lives were in her hands and she couldn't exactly turn around to look back at them for fear of another obstacle coming up front. Luckily, Viper caught up with her and gave her a good report on the team were partnering and were all right so far. After October nodded, Viper fell back to make sure the team would get through the warm-up without injury. 

The next obstacle was intense, considering it was five feet of flames shooting out of random holes lodged in the ground like super-sized Bunsen burners, it couldn't get anymore intense. October had only a small amount of room to maneuver through, and it was only big enough for a small-sized person to go through without getting too warm, not badly burnt unless you were to move slowly through it. Although, October's shirt caught fire, which was a bit distracting as she tried to pat it out quickly as the floorboards began to move again into ramps this time. The ramps were probably the most risky of the obstacles because they can be used to an advantage as long as the timing was good. 

October rolled over one that was still rising, not really giving her much speed-wise, but the next one that was up was toward the inside of the track, so she swerved and ramped off high enough to do a 360 spin and landed neatly. 

The bullhorn sounded for a two-minute time period, signaling to October that the other teams were arriving and warm-ups were over. The key element to the game was anonymity, which October was finding to be hard considering that her team had won almost every race. 

She skid to a stop and left the track as the obstacles slid back into place, giving the arena a regular skating rink appearance. Striker left the booth and made it down to October's team. 

"Hey!" he said, giving October a hug, "How have you been? Saw that you received a couple of scholarships senior night!" 

"I've been great! How's Dmitri?" October asked, having to yell over the cacophony of noise brought on by the contenders. 

"He's with his mom for the weekend," he yelled back, bringing a water bottle out of his pocket, "Here, this is natural spring water from Fiji, a friend of mine bottles it for a cheaper price." 

October took it and swung it up for a swig, "Tell your friend thanks! I'm not a big fan of tap water or purified, it just doesn't have that fresh taste you know?" 

"I'm not sure on the fresh part, but I can send him the message," Striker said, "I have to get back to the box, so I'll see you!" 

October nodded and watched him walk back towards the control panel's box. As soon as he was gone from sight, a mass of crowd swarmed the stands in order to spectate. October looked back to her team to see a couple of them limbering up while others were speaking to friends, family, or just someone they knew. October felt her lips turn up in a sad smile. The Game's rules made it hard for her to be able to tell people she was close to. The people her team brought had been associated with the Game somehow before or found out about it themselves. The Game was very Fight Club with it's rule of not talking about it...directly. That and the fact that it was really Fight Club on skates with bats showed October that she really couldn't tell Jasen or Deirdre. Especially not Deirdre...at least Jasen knew she could take care of herself. 

October shook her head to clear it from the thoughts, they could be distracting, and as October has learned in every way possible...distractions were not good. 

The loud horn blared out again as Striker got everyone's attention. 

"Ladies and Gents! Please take your seats if you are not participating, teams should meet up in their designated boxes and wait for their team leader's names to be called," Striker's voice boomed out of the state-of-the-art speakers. 

October and her twelve teammates all rolled over to the box that was decorated as if it were for a Tim Burton movie. October sat on one of the benches and stretched her legs a little to stay limber. Her team started bustling with anticipation and adrenaline as they awaited for their turn to smash out the opposing team. 

"Let's start out with the top of the pyramid!" Striker said, October noticed he was kinda laying on the cheesy announcer character, but the crowd loved it, so she let it pass, "October and Wretched, your teams are about to be pitted against each other in the face of danger!" 

October felt the need to roll her eyes as the team and her skated out to their positions. October and Viper both rolled to meet Wretched and her co-captain. They seemed like a mean bunch, but October knew better than to judge. She made sure to show the scar lining her jaw. Her whole team including Viper believed it was just a mark from a past Game, and she used it to show she wasn't to be underestimated. 

"Captains, shake," Striker said through the mike. 

October grabbed Wretched's forearm as she grabbed her's and they shook. Custom to the Game, the tradition was pretty much Medieval, but that was how October liked it. Wretched definitely had a foot on her and had long dark dreds that were professionally tied back in a ponytail through her helmet. Her co-captain was pretty buff too, but he was the same height as Viper, and Viper was definitely more intimidating than the closed shaved head of black hair with white striped dyed from his forehead back. It looked like a skunk pretty much; but October just let go of Wretched's arm and turned back to her team. 

Her team had gotten into position in the midst of Wretched's team as Wretched, her skunky co-captain, Viper, and October took place at the front. A large version of a stoplight lit up as the people in the arena grew quiet. The light was red, then when it clicked down to yellow, October took her stance along with the other players. The horn blew as the light clicked down to green and everyone set off. October's small size helped her gain a good head start. She heard a loud huffing noise close to her and she quickly glanced back to see Wretched coming after her with her bat raised to swing at her. October sped up and veered to the inside of the track as Wretched's bat brushed her elbow pad. October let out a sigh of relief and kept going. The floor panels started to spin and she glided through them just as quickly as she did when she first went through. She hoped Striker wasn't going to just do the same tricks as earlier, as that could be considered cheat- 

_WHAM!_ October was knocked back by a bat into her stomach. The wind was forced out of her as she flew back an inch or so and skidded on her back. She kept a hold of her conscious stream of mind and rolled toward the inside of the track to keep out of the way of the other players. 

"Wretched's bat made contact this time as October is knocked out of the lead. Wretched and the co-captain of October's team Viper are trying to fight for the lead as the other player's battle it out and try to maneuver," Striker's friend Trick – who also paid off the cops – commentated. 

October took a couple more deep breaths as she steadily got back to her feet and grabbed her bat. The chest plate took most of the force from the blow, but Wretched knew how to hit. October leaped back on the track and started from dead last. There were still only three rounds left, and if there was a tie there would be a sudden death match between the leaders. From the way she was hit, October knew that Wretched could be thought of as a troll with a club. 

She was able to get in the middle of the race easily, some teams had some bad skaters, October wouldn't lie to herself and say that her team was perfect, but she was able to teach some of the poor skaters on the team how to pace themselves. The obstacles had gotten more difficult and were different from before. There were the floorboards that came up as ramps though, and October could see that Viper was caught between fighting Wretched, and defending herself from Wretched's co-captain. October swiftly ramped up the highest ramp that was up and brought her knees to her chest. As she approached the ground she relaxed her body and let the ground absorb the force. She was right behind the skunk-head when she realized what she could do. She picked up speed by drafting behind him. She started to pick up speed and swerved to his left. Before he could register who was next to him, October jabbed the back of his knee and it gave out from under him. It was when he stopped and fell that October noticed that some of Wretched's team was behind her and wasn't expecting the sudden obstacle. She couldn't help but smirk as she looked back up front and Viper was pulling back towards her. 

"I have her somewhat wore out for you," Viper yelled, "Go for it now unless you want to face off!" 

October saluted her and took Viper's hand. Viper and October both picked up speed, but Viper stayed ahead. When October was at the point Viper was dragging her, Viper spun and threw October into a hyper-drive of roller blading. October tried the same trick she did with the co-captain, but Wretched realized she was there and blocked it with her bat. She went to swing back at October again, but the stretch was coming up and October noticed a bunch of glass bottles rolling out from the outside of the arena. October hunched down and worked her way around the bottles, but there were so many that she tripped up because she was going too fast and skid across the floor. Wretched having her size help her bowled right through them and across the finish line. October got up and brushed herself off, taking a deep breath knowing that it was only one round and that there was still a chance her team could catch up. 

"Team Wretched is 1 – 0 against Team October," Trick said, and a screen showed the score. The crowd roared or groaned in disapproval. 

Viper rolled over to October as the clean up crew fixed any glitches that happened when the obstacles went on. 

"We should've realized that there would be something at the end," Viper said, clapping a hand on October's shoulder, "We'll get them next race and kick them out." 

October looked at Viper and nodded. The Game may have started, but there was going to be a war. October didn't like how Wretched played; something was just off about her and her team.

x*x 

Three rounds were played and ended...October swore loudly when she saw that the score was tied. It meant that she was going to have to go against Wretched in sudden death. 

"Hey October," a gruff voice called out, "Looks like I'll be crushing you in sudden death!" 

October looked to see Wretched leering at her. October couldn't help herself, her annoyance at the attitude of Wretched and her team made her blood boil. 

"How about you wax your mustache that grew from the steroids you took today first?" October spat, her body shaking. 

"Don't let her get to you," Viper whispered in her ear, "Insulting the enemy is my job." 

"Sudden death is coming up, get your intermissions out of your systems because this one is for sure going to be grueling!" Striker announced. 

October growled and looked up at his box incredulous, Striker shrugged in apology, but October couldn't blame him, he _was_ the comedic relief after all. 

October picked up her bat and stiffly rose up; the last race took a bit out of her when Wretched's co-captain smashed some of the bottles and kicked them at her. She swerved too hard and slammed into the side of the arena. 

"Good luck!" Viper said, and a chorus came out towards her from the team and bits of the audience as October made her way down to the middle of the arena. October took a deep breath and twisted her head over to where her neck popped several times. Instantly her back relaxed and the muscles that felt stiff just felt slightly bruised. October grinned in thankfulness as she swung around popping her spine. 

"Sudden death is not literal on the death part," Trick started to explain the rules, "The captain's fight it out until one surrenders, is knocked out, or first blood. The whole arena can be used, however, no one is to interfere or tag in or help the combatants in any way. Any cheating or even signs of cheating will disqualify the one being aided or the one who is cheating. The captain's of each team should have their bats crossed to signal to start." 

October crossed bats with Wretched's, feeling almost as if she were in a sword fight. 

"_Of course! Because being clubbed to unconsciousness is definitely worse than being stabbed or cut up,"_ October thought. 

"The bats are crossed!" Trick yelled, "Begin!" 

Wretched yelled as she swung the bat, but October rolled on her side and started roller blading. She was going to wear her opponent out before trying to go at her. The fact that there weren't any obstacles to worry about this time was a plus as October quickly picked up speed. She swerved her feet to keep her pace around the curves. 

"Looks like it's a cat and mouse chase with October being the mouse," Trick commentated again. 

October smirked, _"Let's see what type of mouse I am after this!"_

She kept going until she noticed that Wretched was having trouble keeping up. Right as October was coming out of the curve and Wretched was entering the curve, October swerved around, across the arena, and settled behind Wretched. Wretched watched her the entire time and when October went past, she could see her feeling of stupidity in her eyes. October's grin widened. Wretched's eyes suddenly went from feeling stupid to rage and she reared back with her bat. October ducked under it and shoved her bat into Wretched's side. 

"Payback," October yelled as Wretched's weight followed where October's bat pushed her. The fact that Wretched was turned around and had swung her bat didn't help much either. 

Wretched slammed into the side of the arena and October threw her fist in the air as the crowd cheered. It was unexpected for someone as small as her to one-up someone as large as Wretched. 

"That was a bit David and Goliath there!" Trick said, sounding surprised, "However, it looks as if Wretched's got a bit of fight left in her!" 

October spun back and rolled backwards watching as Wretched had gotten up and looked like an enraged bull. Wretched made a beeline after October who stopped and took a softball stance. Wretched's eyes widened in shock as she realized that her rage had gotten out of control and nothing seemed to register after October's bat swung up to her chin. 

The crowd gasped and cheered at the obvious victor as blood spurted from Wretched's quickly swelling lip. Her team came onto the arena to help hoist her up to get her to first aid. October felt as if her bones were suddenly hollowed out and she collapsed, out of breath and exhausted. Everything sounded muddled and faded through cotton-ball-filled ears as she was carried up by her teammates. Everything was a blur after as an envelope of money was shoved into her hand and she was clapped on the shoulders and back. 

October quickly left before the second Game went on, she wasn't needed until the next round in the challenge was organized. She snuck in quietly as she noticed that Deirdre was home and most likely asleep. She saw that there was half of supper left and October brought it back to her bedroom and scarfed it down before chucking the container in a recycling bin marked "Cardboard." She shed her equipment off and threw them under the bed. Before she could collapse into dreamworld, however, she walked across the hall and into the bathroom to take a quick shower. As she undressed, she saw the beginnings of a darkening bruise on her stomach from the hit she took. October forgot all about it as the hot water soothed her tensed muscles and washed the grit and sweat away. 

After she dried off she dressed for bed in a pair of sweats and a Cami. She crawled under the covers, and before she drifted off to sleep, she blindly hooked up her iHome and iPod and pressed play. As soon as the start of the song "My Secret Friend" by IAMX that Imogen was featured on happened, she was already asleep. 

x*x

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><p><strong>So, let me know how I'm doing! I am thankful for all those who have reviewed! Also, check out the song "My Secret Friend" by IAMX. It's incredible lol, I've recently gotten hooked on it!<br>**


	6. What More Can Happen?

**Here's a new chapter! Enjoy as always and glad to know readers are likin' it! :D**

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><p>October woke up with a pounding headache the next morning, as she got ready for school that morning she noticed that she ached all over as well. She walked up to the mirror in her room to see a couple of light bruises on her face that could be covered with makeup. She lifted her shirt to check the damage on her ribs. The bruise was still there, dark and ugly as ever. She stretched and felt the pain strike, but in a relieving sense when she relaxed. She went to her desk and opened a drawer to pull out bandage wrap. No sense in going to school with the chance of hitting something against it. She tightly wrapped herself and snapped on a couple of pins to keep it in place.<p>

When she finished getting dressed she peeked outside of her room to see Deirdre drinking some coffee and killing time before work. October crept to the bathroom to fix the rat's nest out of her hair and applied some foundation over the bruises. She then brushed her teeth and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and an apple.

"Good morning," Deirdre said, stretching out on the beaten up couch and lazily flipping the pages of a book.

"Morning," October said between drinks, "Do you need a ride to work?"

"How can you sit and read this? It gets so technical and some of the words are spelled weird," she said, tossing the book on the coffee table. The reflective cover showed October it was her dog-eared copy of _The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest_.

October took the question as a yes answer and sat in the old recliner, "I like the character, she's a computer hacker with as many flaws as talent. Plus, the weird spelling is because it's an English translation from Swedish. Some English words don't exist in their language."

"Whatever," Deirdre said, picking up her guitar and strumming it, "So, are you going to go visit that girl today?"

"What girl?" October asked, packing the book into her messenger bag.

"Our half-sister, Mary or whoever," Deirdre said, her strumming becoming louder.

"Marti, her name is Marti," October corrected, "And I don't know. Why are you asking?"

"Because she called me asking what you were up to because you weren't answering your phone," she said between clenched teeth.

"If I didn't know any better I would say you were jealous of her," October scoffed, more in annoyance at her sister rather than spite.

The strumming stopped all of a sudden as Deirdre looked up at October, "Why. Would. I. Be. Jealous. Of. A. Bobble-head?"

"She's not a bobble-head," October said, "And I still don't understand why you're annoyed."

"Don't you see?" Deirdre said standing up, "She's coming between us! Next thing I'll know is I'll be coming home to an empty house and live the rest of my life alone!"

"Well maybe that wouldn't be a problem if you actually let people in when they want to be your friend!" October said, jumping to her feet.

"Why would I need to if you're here?" Deirdre yelled back.

"Because if your biggest fear is losing me is coming true then you wouldn't have me here!" October's hands clenched into fists, "Your argument is void due to your circular evidence!"

Deirdre then put her guitar in its carrying case and stormed around the apartment getting her things. She opened the door and slammed it shut. October stood there tensed, taking deep breaths until she relaxed. She hated arguing with Deirdre, but sometimes her sister was so aggravating when it came to people wanting to be in their lives. It took her a year to become used to Jasen and that was only when he was becoming a friend. That was when October and Deirdre were five. Ever since Mom died Deirdre had become a recluse and didn't trust anyone except October. Then when Rex attacked, Deirdre took it upon herself to look after October. It took her two years to be used to the idea of Jasen becoming October's boyfriend.

She sighed and fell into the chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. The shouting didn't help her headache at all. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her bag and turned it on. She saw that there were 2 voicemails both from Marti, and a missed call from Deirdre, probably about Marti calling her. She called Jasen on her phone and asked if he could give her a ride to school.

Within five minutes he was at the door waiting for her, "Is something wrong with the Hulk?"

"No, my car's fine, it's just I have a bit of a headache and I didn't get much sleep last night," October said, giving him a small kiss, "Not exactly driving material."

Jasen smiled and lead her to his car with an arm around her waist. "Ah, and what about Deirdre? No ride to work for her?"

"We kinda had an argument," October said sheepishly.

Jasen kissed her temple, "It'll blow over, they always do."

"Well this is about the girl that's our half-sister," October explained.

"Oh," Jasen said as if in a question, then realizing the actuality of the situation, "_Oh_."

"Yeah," October said, "I'm not exactly sure how long it's going to take."

"Well it was a year for me to be your friend, and then two years before she accepted me as a good boyfriend for you," Jasen said, then sighing, "But the fact of who it deals with I really don't see her becoming attached to your half-sister for a while."

"I know, but she just doesn't get it," October said.

"Get what?" he asked, opening the door for her.

"I'm thinking about going to Lancer for college," October said, "I'm going to be the new mascot so I can stay at Cheertown and with Marti."

"I don't think that's going to help with the problem," Jasen said as he got in the driver's side.

"I know, she had just told me that she was afraid that Marti was going to steal me away," October groaned, "Why can't I have a normal twin sister?"

"Because that wouldn't be right," Jasen said, driving out of the parking lot, "You balance each other out. You keep each other on your toes."

"I still wish it wasn't that way," she grumbled, "It would make life easier."

"Life isn't supposed to be easy," Jasen shot back.

"True, as you usually are," October said.

Jasen grinned as he pulled into the school's parking lot, "Deirdre will come around. You just have to give her time and a really solid reason for her to trust Marti."

He went around and opened the door for October, always the gentleman. October slid out of the seat and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.

"I don't know what to do though," October felt exhausted, "Graduation is-"

"-A little under three-quarters of a year away," Jasen finished, "There is plenty of time for a miracle."

October let out a deep breath, "With it being Deirdre, it's going to have to be one hell of a miracle."

"That's the spirit!" Jasen said kissing her.

They both walked into the school and went to her locker; Jasen never put anything in his locker, except his textbooks, because all he needed was paper and a pencil. He never took his textbooks yet he had perfect grades in everything except English, that and he had every class with October, who brought everything he needed with her. She helped him out in English, while he helped her out with Calculus.

The first class was Art however, and neither needed help in that area. Jasen didn't seem like it, but he had a great style when it came to drawing. October mainly drew anime or Manga characters or scenes. She would also draw a couple of animals here and there, but Jasen had a knack for drawing everything. His largest muse were horses though, as his dad worked at the racetrack nearby and Jasen wanted to take over when his dad left. October wasn't aware, but Jasen was awarded a scholarship to the Darby program, which meant he would be traveling almost everywhere around the globe. He really wanted to stay in the UK as it was nearby Ireland, where his parents were from and he was born.

He really wanted October to go with him, but she was so set for Lancer. However, he still had two years to graduate, so he hoped with his whole self that it would work out perfectly.

He brought up the idea of asking October to live with him in the UK to Deirdre, who completely understood his concern. She told him the best thing to do would be wait until October got her first-level degree in order to work in a lab, and then find a place nearby somewhere she could work in the UK. If possible, try and get it close to where Imogen Heap lived too. That would help majorly with her wanting to go.

Jasen still hadn't said anything yet, waiting for the perfect moment. He could wait forever if he had to. He put his hand in the inside pocket of his jacket and felt the small box with the ring in it. It was the ring he hoped to present to October when he proposed to her in the future.

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><p><strong>I'll be trying to keep up with my stories, but if I don't show for a while just know I'm not gone forever ;)<strong>


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